


Home of the Wheelers/Hoppers

by welcometotheupsidedown



Series: In Every Universe - Mileven Alternate Universes [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, El is cute, F/M, Friendship/Love, Inspired by Full House (US), Light Angst, Love, Maybe - Freeform, Mileven au, The Gangs All Here, im bad at tags, mike is a huge sap, set in the late 80s, ted's not here bc karen kicked him out, the kids are 17 in this, the party
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-10-27 00:24:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17756243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welcometotheupsidedown/pseuds/welcometotheupsidedown
Summary: So, Mike guessed that this was his life now. He lived with his mother and his little sister, which was normal. But he also lived with the chief of police and his seventeen-year-old daughter, which was so not normal.A Full House inspired fic because I haven't seen one yet. Mileven being cute and lots of domesticity!





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this first chapter is kind of a prologue, and that's why it's so short. Also, the rating is subject to change as I go on through this story. I still don't know exactly where I am going with this, so the rating might be changed, but nothing more than Teen and Up at the most!
> 
> I am going to try to post fairly regularly, but I still don't know how long this will end up being. It could be a two-shot or it could be 15 chapters, who knows? Not me. 
> 
> In other words, the author doesn't know what she's doing, so please just read it, thanks!

Mike begrudgingly carried his last box of belongings from his old room down to the basement of his house. He hated this. Now he had to unpack everything and rearrange the entire basement to fit all of his stuff. His old room was now someone else’s and he wasn’t very fond of all the hard work he was having to put into this, but he did like that he had the whole basement to himself. 

He could already hear the commotion of the others moving in upstairs. His mother had finally divorced his father, but didn’t have enough money to live in this house, what with all the bills and groceries and whatnot. She had just gotten herself a job to help pay for some of it, she was now the secretary at the local dentist’s office, but it wasn’t going to be enough. 

Karen had briefly considered finding somewhere else to stay, as it was only three of them now, Mike, Holly, and herself. They didn’t need a big house, and could probably survive with a small three bedroom house, but Karen still didn’t feel secure with that idea either. So, she confided in an old friend from high school when she ran into him during a day-trip to Indianapolis. 

That was when her friend, Jim Hopper, revealed that he was looking for a place in Hawkins for he and his daughter. He had just been offered the chief of police’s position, but they were struggling to find somewhere that was both decent and cheap. Hawkins was a small town with few places that didn’t have dingy walls and broken floor tiles. 

After lots of discussion and financial negotiation, the two old friends had come up with the idea to form some kind of double family unit by moving Hopper and his daughter in with them, which is why Mike is now being forced to move all his crap to the basement. 

Hopper was taking his old room. He had been here once before, last week, saying that he would have to do something to the walls. Hopper apparently wasn’t a big fan of blue, and said he’d be repainting the walls to a more neutral color. Mike had not yet met the other new inhabitant of his house, El.

His mother told him a little bit about her. She was his age, 17, and really smart like him. She was taking Nancy’s old room. Nancy wouldn’t be home very often, since she was off to college in New York, and she didn’t mind giving the new girl the room. 

So, Mike guessed that this was his life now. He lived with his mother and his little sister, which was normal. But he also lived with the chief of police and his seventeen-year-old daughter, which was so not normal. 

Mike finished unpacking everything and looked at his handiwork. The basement looked completely different. Mike had put his bed up against the wall next to the stairs. His couch and table had remained, but he now had more bookshelves and his desk up against the other walls. He also had gone through much of his old childhood toys, putting the salvageable ones in a box to donate, and the disgusting and broken ones in a trash bag to go out to the dump. 

He had come to the realization that if he kept all these old toys, the new girl would see them and think he was even more of a nerd than she probably would think anyways. (He still had one box under his bed that contained some old comics, a couple of action figures, and his old dinosaur named Rory, who he just couldn’t seem to part with.)

He laid on his bed, relieved that he was finally done. He could faintly smell dinner, or at least he hoped he did, and there were not the loud sounds of moving furniture anymore, but just the sounds of voices talking. He briefly thought about taking a nap before dinner, but his stomach growled at him and he knew he wouldn’t have time. He got up off the bed and headed up the stairs.

He emerged into the living room to find his mother and Hopper talking about old memories from high school. And that’s when he saw her.

The girl, who he assumed to be El, was quite possibly the most beautiful girl Mike has ever seen. He froze as he looked at her. El’s hair was subtle brunette and fell in short waves at her collarbones. She had on a pink off-the-shoulder sweater and short overalls that fit her just right. Her white converse were just the perfect amount of clean and worn to be stylish. He finally looked at her eyes, dark brown and staring right back at him.

They held each other’s stares for a moment longer before Hopper coughed, reminding Mike of where he was and what he was doing, and oh God, he totally just checked out the chief of police’s daughter right in front of him, didn’t he?

Mike looked down at the floor, embarrassed. Hopper rolled his eyes at the interaction, while Karen held in a small chuckle.

“Mike, this is El. El, Mike,” Karen said, gesturing them towards each other. 

Mike awkwardly stepped forward to where El was sitting in a chair and held out his hand for her to shake. She took it, and smiled. 

“Hello, Mike. It’s nice to meet you,” she said. 

Mike’s brain short-circuited for a moment because her voice was freaking adorable. “Hi,” he answered lamely.

“Dinner’s almost ready, we’ll go set the table,” Karen told him, as she walked out of the room, Hopper following right after. 

Mike could have sworn that El could literally feel the awkward radiating from him. She laughed, and shook her head as she looked at him. 

“Dad said you were a little weird. But I find it cute. Sorry you had to give up your room for us to move in,” El said. 

Mike hesitated for a moment, taking in her words a half-second later than he should have. Her very presence was distracting. “Uh, it’s no problem really. I have the whole basement to myself now,” he finally answered. 

“Well, I know this isn’t the ideal situation, but I am glad that I will know someone on my first day at Hawkins High. I hope that we can become friends?” she asked. She was so sincere, Mike nearly collapsed from being in the same room as an angel.

“Oh, absolutely. I’ll introduce you to my friends. We’re all nerds, but they’re all really great,” he told her.

“Thank you, Mike!” she yelled, and threw her arms around him in a hug. Mike froze for a second before hugging her back. “Well, see you at dinner.” And then, she skipped out of the room, leaving Mike alone. 

Yep. He was so screwed.


	2. Welcome to Hawkins High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El starts school at Hawkins High, and a certain someone will do anything to make sure she gets off to a great start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> This chapter focuses on building friendships, so there's a whole lot of our favorite Party. Dialogue heavy in this one. 
> 
> Minor cursing is happening here.

It had been almost a week since El and the chief had moved in and, so far, things were going pretty smoothly. Mike and El had become good friends in such a short piece of time. It was almost like they were meant to be friends. Mike hadn’t had the chance to introduce El to his friends yet because it was still Christmas break. 

However, January was now here and that meant school was going to be starting again. El was nervous about going to a new school, she had went to a school in Chicago up until her mother’s death a few years ago, and then she had moved back to Indianapolis with her father, where she had been homeschooled ever since.

“Mike, promise you won’t leave me alone tomorrow,” she had confided in him the night before. 

“Well, we don’t have the same schedule, but we do have a lot of the same classes, so I promise to be there when I can,” Mike had told her. It was incredible how quickly they had become comfortable with each other. In fact, as this conversation was happening, they were lying on the floor side-by-side in Mike’s basement, door open of course, per Hopper’s request.

“Thank you,” El said, reaching over to punch his shoulder affectionately.

“No problem,” he grinned back at her.

The next morning, El had woken up in a panic trying to find something to wear. She had even woken Mike up, telling him to come help her decide. She would show him different outfits and ask him which was better, but El soon came to realize that Mike didn’t have an opinion on girl clothes because every time she asked he would always answer with “Anything looks good on you, El.”

When she finally saw his uselessness in the matter, she sent him away and continued searching for the perfect look on her own. Mike had went back to sleep for another twenty minutes before his mother was shaking him, telling him he was going to be late if he didn’t get up now. 

El had not spoken during breakfast, Mike couldn’t really tell why for sure. He had come to realize that El was most certainly NOT a morning person. He wasn’t sure if that was the reason behind her silence or if it was her nerves. Probably both.

On the ride to the school, he caught her pulling at the sleeve of her grey sweater, anxious.

“Hey, you’re gonna be fine. I’ll walk you to all of your classes and I’ll sit with you in all the classes we share, okay?” he attempted to reassure her, as he pulled the car into it’s parking spot.

El smiled and nodded. 

They got out of the car and began to walk into the school. Mike showed El where her locker was, she had received her schedule and combination in the mail the week before. 

That was when Mike’s friends greeted him. El continued situating her locker and was hidden behind Mike, so his friends didn’t notice she was even there. She noticed that there were three boys and a girl with red hair.

Lucas jumped on Mike’s back and yelled, “Mike! Where have you been, man?!”

“Get off, Lucas!” Mike shouted, shoving him off. 

“Hey , but really where have you been? We haven’t seen you in like a week,” Dustin said.

“Well… y’know how I said my mom was thinking about moving us to a different house? We moved in the chief of police and his daughter instead. They’re living with us now, and I’ve been getting to know El and showing her around Hawkins,” Mike answered. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait…. You mean to tell me that you’ve been hanging out with some girl who lives in your house instead of us? Is she at least hot? I bet she’s like twelve or something,” Dustin rambled. 

“Uhh…” Mike hesitated, glancing back at El.

Taking that as her cue, she smiled and stepped forward beside of Mike.

“Nope, I’m sixteen, ‘hot’ is an abstract opinion so really that’s up to you, and what else? Oh, yes Mike has been hanging out with some girl who lives in his house instead of you,” El said. 

Dustin gaped at her, speechless. 

Max laughed. “I like her,” she whispered to Lucas.

“Yeah, so… I’m gonna walk with El to class, I’ll catch you guys later,” Mike said. He turned and began walking away, El walking beside him.

“What the hell just happened?!” Dustin looked at his friends, hoping they had an answer for him.

“Mike has a new friend,” Will said, as if this news was no more surprising than the fact that he had breakfast this morning.

“A badass new friend,” Max laughed. 

“Was it just me, or did they both seem to like each other. It’s just the way they looked at each other…” Lucas pointed out.

“You noticed that too? They totally have the hots for each other,” Max agreed. 

—————————

“Sorry about them, they’re idiots,” Mike told El as soon as they were out of ear shot. 

“Mike, it’s okay. I thought they were funny. Especially the curly haired one,” El giggled.

“Damn it, I should’ve properly introduced you guys. You can get to know everyone at lunch, if you haven’t already made cooler friends than us.”

“You’re cool Mike,” El told him. “Well, not conventionally, no. But to me, you’re very cool,” she added, seeing the look on his face. 

Mike blushed, and for the first time El realized that she might be crushing on her new housemate. No. She couldn’t be. Definitely not. 

“Here,” Mike pointed to a classroom that they were now stopped in front of. “AP Algebra II.” 

El smiled and they entered the classroom.

—————————

By the time lunch came around, El was about 95% sure that she had a crush on Mike Wheeler. He was being so nice to her, walking her to every class, even the classes they didn’t share. And he was so funny! She had never met anyone like him. 

The only problem was that El wasn’t sure if he liked her back. Well, she knew he at least liked her as a friend. But that was part of it, because now she wondered if she was in the friend zone. Even if she wasn’t… she didn’t want to ruin a friendship with Mike. What if things didn’t work out? They live together! How are they supposed to deal with that? 

El begrudgingly swore to herself that she would not make a move on Mike Wheeler.

But that didn’t mean she would refuse if he made one.

“How did you like your history class?” Mike asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. They were now in the lunch line, grabbing their trays of food.

El shrugged, “It was okay, I guess. History has never been my thing. I’m probably the only person in the world whose favorite subject is math.”

“Well, my favorite subject is science, but I don’t hate math like everyone else. History does suck though,” Mike said.

El giggled.

They made their way through the crowd of people and towards a table in the back of the cafeteria, where El could clearly see Mike’s friends from earlier.

“Hey guys!” Mike yelled when they got close enough. “I forgot to introduce you all to El this morning, so… that’s Will,” he pointed to a boy with a bowl cut, “Max, Lucas, and Dustin.”

“The one with a big mouth!” El exclaimed, making Dustin’s eyes bulge out of his head. “I like you already,” she added as she sat down. Dustin noticeably relaxed.

“So, El, fair warning if you’re going to be one of us…” Max began, “I’m the cool one and these guys are nerds, so if you ever want sanity over chaos, I’m the one to come to.” El grinned.

“Hey! I might be a nerd, but I certainly do not fit into the category of ‘chaos,’” Will said. 

“Fine!” Max put her hands up in defense. “Will, you are the nicest one of the boys.”

“Thank you,” he said, as he returned to eating his french fries. 

“I don’t see why you’re one to talk when you’re the reason we can’t eat in the AV room anymore,” Mike said to Max.

“You were supposed to be the lookout!” Max shouted.

“Not this again…” Lucas sighed. 

“I had to pee! And you were taking forever!” Mike retorted.

“It was only one cigarette, it was like ten minutes tops,” Max rolled her eyes.

“Oh, come on Maxine. We all know you smoke a pack a day, don’t lie to yourself.”

Max flipped him off. 

“Right back at ya,” he replied with part of his sandwich in his mouth. 

“So… you guys are in an AV club?” El asked.

“Yep, the best one in Indiana. It’s just the five of us, six if you wanna join,” Dustin answered her.

“Absolutely!” El smiled.

“Really?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, who said I wasn’t a nerd too?” 

Mike laughed. “Touche.” 

Lunch was great. El and Mike’s friends got along great. They even made plans for the weekend.

Watching El become friends with the party made Mike realize that he was falling. 

Falling pretty damn fast for this girl. 

—————————

“How was school, kid?” Hopper asked as they ate their dinner. 

“It was actually really great. Mike was a perfect gentleman and showed me around,” El said, making Mike blush.

Karen smiled at her son in approval, but Hopper just gave the boy a look that Mike was unable to decipher. It was most likely a cross between being grateful for Mike helping El and wanting Mike to stay away from his little girl.

“Oh! And Mike’s friends are awesome! We are going to all hang out this weekend,” El told them.

“That’s great Ellie, but aren’t most of them boys,” Hopper asked.

“Yes, Dad. But that’s nothing for you to be concerned about,” she replied.

El caught Mike’s eye from across the table and winked. 

Mike almost fainted. 

This was getting a little out of hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be out in probably less than 3 days, but I don't know because I'm in college and college is work. :/ 
> 
> Fun fact: my favorite subject is also math and I hate history.


	3. Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Party goes out for a night on the town, which just happens to include the arcade, Benny's burgers, and awkward conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I am sorry this chapter took me so long to write. College is hard and I had so much work to do. Then when I actually had time to write, I didn't know how to get where I want to go in this story. This one is kind of a filler, but nevertheless it's gotta be here because I can't just jump to the parts I'm most excited to write. 
> 
> Mild language and some mild suggestive themes in this chapter.

“Wear whatever you want, El, you look great in everything,” Mike said. He was laying face-down on El’s bed, while she went through her closet looking for the perfect arcade and Benny’s outfit. 

“I don’t see why you’re making a big deal over this. We are just going to hang out with our friends,” Mike whined. 

“I just met them five days ago, I have to look nice to make a good impression. Purple or blue?” El asked, holding up two different shirts. 

Mike lifted his head to look. “Purple. No one is going to even be paying attention to what you’re wearing. Not even Max. And even if they did, it’s not like they’re going to judge you or anything. My friends are pretty cool, you don’t have to be scared of them.”

“I’m not!” El denied. “Put your face into the bed, I’m gonna change.” 

“You know if your dad knew I was in here while you were changing—“

“He’d blow a gasket,” El finished for him. “You can look now, I’m fully clothed. Don’t worry about him, I wouldn’t let him hurt you.”

“Still. It doesn’t help that he purposely scares the shit out of me all the time,” Mike sat up. 

“He just doesn’t like that I’m getting close with a boy, even though we’re just friends. He’s overwhelmingly protective over me,” El sat beside Mike. “He’s probably the reason I’ve never kissed anyone.”

“What?” Mike almost fell over. 

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just—how… how have you never kissed anyone before?” Mike asked her.

“Well, I’ve never had a boyfriend or anything, I guess guys just don’t find me kissable,” El said.

“That’s ridiculous! You’re not un-kissable, you’re very kissable, I mean, not that I’ve thought about that or anything. It’s just, I—I think you’re probably really intimidating,” Mike stumbled over his words. 

“What makes you say that?” El asked. Mike worried that he had overstepped, but then he saw she was smiling. 

“Well, I mean… you’re really pretty, like, gorgeous really.” Mike’s face was reddening under her stare. 

“Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Mike smiled at her. 

“So what about you?” El asked.

“What about me?” Mike looked at her confused. 

“Have you kissed anyone?” 

“Uh... yeah actually. I have,” Mike said, embarrassed. 

“Oh, get it Mike,” El joked, elbowing him.

“Nah, it wasn’t like that. It was a total pity make out. At the one and only party I’ve ever been to,” he admitted. 

“Ah well, at least you’ve kissed someone before. I’m just a loser,” El smiled at him. 

“You know you’re not. Come on, let’s go. We’re gonna be late anyways because of your indecisive outfit picking.”

——————————

The arcade was nothing like El had expected it to be. Mike had been right about one thing, though. Nobody seemed to care what she was wearing. They were all too focused on the video games to pay her any attention.

She did have a lot of fun there though. Mike taught her how to play Dig Dug, which she had never played before. Dustin, Lucas, and Max fought each other for all of the high scores on their favorite games. Will was there for encouragement, but ended up beating all three of their scores on Space Invaders, which needless to say, made them even more competitive. Will smirked at their surprised faces. 

El discovered that she loved the way Mike helped her, and how he was so patient with her. She had known that her crush on him was growing, but hoped that it would pass soon because she always felt so nervous around him. 

After a few hours had passed, Dustin swore he was “like totally going to die” if he didn’t get food soon, so they made their way to Benny’s for dinner.

They sat squished together in a booth that was probably made for four people rather than six, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. El was squished up in-between Mike and Will, who she had become really close to in art class. 

“So El, what’s it like being the daughter of the chief of police?” Max asked. 

El smiled. “He’s all bark and no bite. I swear I could get away with just about anything,” she said, sipping on her strawberry milkshake.

“Really? Like, you wouldn’t get in trouble if you drank or smoked?” Max replied.

“Well, he wouldn’t be too happy about it, but he wouldn’t harshly punish me for it because he says he was a horrible teenager, and there’s nothing I could do that he hasn’t.”

“Me, on the other hand,” Mike began, “he can’t stand. So, I’m pretty sure if he found out I did anything against the rules, he would kick my ass.”

“No he wouldn’t, I wouldn’t let him!” El said. Mike grinned at her. Lucas and Dustin shared a knowing look.

“Why doesn’t he like you, Mike?” Max asked with a sinister grin on her face.

“I don’t know. He just never has,” Mike answered, picking up a french fry.

“Oh, I could probably come up with a few reasons,” Dustin said, matching the grin on Max’s face.

If there was one thing the Party had came to realize since El joined them, it was that Mike was absolutely head over heels for her. And they were pretty sure the feeling was mutual, but neither of them would admit it. 

Seeing where this conversation was headed, Mike glared at his friends across the table, and quickly began to change the subject. 

“So, El, my sister Nancy is coming to visit next week. She says she can’t wait to meet you.”

“Really? Oh! Does she want to sleep in her room? Because I can take the couch…” El suggested.

“Oh, no. She’ll probably not even stay with us. She’ll probably stay the night at her boyfriend’s house,” Mike told her.

“Ewww, don’t remind me!” Will suddenly said, practically gagging.

“What?” El asked confused.

“Oh, Nancy’s boyfriend is Jonathan, who just happens to be Will’s brother.”

“Yeah, and I have heard things that can never be unheard,” Will groaned. 

“Oh,” El nodded in understanding.

“How about we move onto a new topic, one that’s more interesting that Mike and Will’s siblings’s sexual escapades?” Dustin interrupted. Mike made a disgusted face and Will winced at his choice of words. 

“We have more important things to discuss, like the party we are all going to next Saturday,” Dustin added.

“A party? That we are invited to?” Max asked. 

“Yes, Maxine.” That earned him a kick under the table. “Ow! Stop! Anyways, its at Steve’s house. It’s gonna be mostly college kids, but we are invited because Steve said, and I quote ‘you shitheads need to let loose for once in your life’.”

“God, I love Dustin’s boyfriend,” Max exclaimed. 

That started a battle that lasted the rest of dinner. 

After they left, Mike, El, and Will piled into Mike’s car. 

“Thanks for the ride, Mike. I wish my mom would let me get my driver’s license,” Will said from his spot in the backseat. 

“No problem, Will. Your only other option would have been riding with Lucas, and well he’s with Max so who knows what they’re going to do,” Mike rolled his eyes. 

Will hopped out of the car, waving a goodbye to his two friends, which they returned. 

“I had fun tonight,” El said as Mike began driving back into the main streets of Hawkins.

“Yeah? I knew you would.”

“So, I guess we’re going to a party?” El brought up the conversation from the diner.

“Yeah, I mean, we’ve never really gone to one, but Steve is cool. He used to date my sister before she started seeing Jonathan,” Mike turned down the street to their house.

“I’ve never been to a party either…” El hesitated. “Promise you won’t leave me alone,” she said, jokingly adding, “hold my hand when I get scared?” 

But then Mike surprised her by answering with, “Absolutely, I promise.” 

And just like a thousand times before, El’s heart started beating a little faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank so much for reading!
> 
> So I have it kind of mapped out where I want this story to go. I'm guessing somewhere between 4-7 more chapters. It just depends on if I come up with any other ideas, which I probably will. Stay tuned, I'm hoping the next chapter will be finished a lot quicker than this one was!


	4. Sisterly Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nancy comes for a visit... and ends up saving Mike and El from being caught...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I wasn't going to go ~there~ with Mike and El in this fic, BUT idk I've never wrote anything like this before. I want to give it a try, but I'm still not going to write anything explicit or even mature. Mostly there are just going to be more references to sex. Nothing more extreme than Stranger Things itself. I've kept my fics pretty much General Audiences only up to this point. However, that being said, there isn't anything like that in this chapter. (The summary is a teensy bit misleading)

Nancy Wheeler knew her brother like the back of her hand. He was easy to read and wore his heart on his sleeve. She had proven how well she could read him on multiple occasions, so Mike really should have been prepared for what happened. 

Nancy came home on Thursday, not having any classes on Fridays and eager to come home since she had not been able to for Christmas break. Her initial impression of El had been good. El was polite, even offering her old room to her while she was staying. What had really caught her attention, was the way her little brother was looking at El.

And Nancy knew within two seconds that Mike had fallen for this girl. Hard.

So, she waited until she could talk to her brother alone. But it seemed like that would never happen, because apparently, Mike and El were attached at the hip. 

Every time she thought she had a window, they would find an excuse to be together. 

Finally, after it seemed like it was going to be a hopeless case, El excused herself to go take a shower. And that’s when Nancy cornered him in the basement.

“So, Mike, have anything you wanna talk to me about?” She asked, giving him the chance to own up to it. 

Mike gave her a confused look, “Uh… no?”

“Really, so you haven’t fallen madly in love with the girl who lives upstairs?”

Mike’s face turned red, “That obvious, huh?”

“Oh, Mikey, you are the most transparent person when it comes to your feelings,” Nancy said, sitting next to him on the couch.

“It’s just that she’s amazing and smart and funny. She gets along with everyone and she loves the nerdy shit I love. But she’s totally out of my league and there’s no way someone like her could love someone like me, so what’s the point?”

“She’s not out of your league. Mike, you underestimate yourself. And besides, forget about the leagues or whatever. She likes you too. The way she looks at you? Mike, she wants you just as much as you want her.”

Mike sighed and looked up at her. “You really think so?” he asked hopeful.

“Absolutely. Make a move, little bro… before someone else does,” Nancy told him, as she got up and headed for the stairs.

“Nance?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“No problem, Mike.”

————————

Mike falls asleep in his bed just like every other night. But instead of being woken up by his alarm set for 7am, he’s woken by something else.

El. In her pajamas and tears staining her cheeks.

“El?” Mike sat up quickly with concern. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.. I’m just being stupid. I’m sorry for waking you,” she says crying, turning to go up the stairs.

“No, wait, it’s okay,” Mike grabs her wrist and pulls her so that she sits on the edge of his bed. “Why are you crying?”

“I had a nightmare… about my mom,” she began. “She’s… dead, has been for a while now, but sometimes seeing her in my dreams… does more harm than good.”

El then began to tell Mike all about her life before. She told him about her sister’s death, which led to the demise of her parents’ relationship. She told him about her mother taking custody of her and marrying another man who abused her. She told him about her mother’s illness and how she died. And finally, she told him how she had felt safe for the first time in her life when she moved to Indianapolis with her father. 

By the end of it, El was still crying, though not as heavily as before.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” Mike said. 

“Thanks for listening,” El whispered. 

There was a long silence, neither of them really knowing what to do.

“Do you—do you…” El hesitated. “Do you think I could stay here tonight? I just… I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Mike had to clear his throat to continue normal respiratory function, but then quickly answered, “yeah, absolutely.”

He scooted over, giving her plenty of space. She laid down so that they were facing each other.

Mike could have sworn his heart was going to burst out of his chest because OH MY GOD, MY CRUSH IS IN MY BED WITH ME, WHAT?!

But soon after, El’s rhythmic breathing lulled him to sleep, forgetting exactly what they were doing. 

Mike sleeps better than he has in a long time, settling into a comfortable peace. 

————————

Too bad the peace has to come an end.

Because Mike realizes with a start that they had slept in. It was fast approaching 7:30, and someone soon would be looking for them. 

Dear God, Hopper could NOT catch them like this. 

At some point in the night, they had drifted even closer together. So much so that El was pretty much on top of him, and he was definitely getting murdered if anyone decided to come check on him. 

“El,” he whispered urgently. “El.”

“What?” She mumbled. 

“We slept in.”

That seemed to bring the problem at hand to the forefront of El’s brain. She quickly jumped up out of bed.

“Shit!” she said. 

“Mike, are you awake?” they heard coming from just outside of Mike’s door.

There was no way El could get up to her room without being seen.

Luckily for them (although not quite as lucky as they could have been if they’d woken up on time), the voice had come from Nancy, who was now making her way down the stairs.

She froze when she saw the two teens, standing with utter fear in their eyes.

Seeming to get the gist of why they were looking so guilty, Nancy sprung into action.

“El, is your window unlocked?” she asked urgently.

“I think so… yes.” 

“Good, go out the back door and climb up to it. It shouldn’t be hard, Steve used to do it all the time,” Nancy told her, gently shoving her out of the door. 

Nancy turned to face her little brother, who she was beginning to realize wasn’t so little anymore. She grinned evilly. 

“When I said make a move, I didn’t mean jump into bed together, and if you’re gonna do that, be smart about it.”

“Nothing happened, I swear!” He defended himself.

“Oh, sure,” Nancy said, skeptical.

“She had a nightmare, and we talked. I swear to you that is all that happened!”

“Wait. She had a nightmare and she came down here? To you?”

“Yes,” Mike said, relieved that she was going along with it.

“Well, Mikey. Nothing happened this time, but if there’s a next time, and there probably will be…. You might want to be prepared.”

“What?” Mike was now thoroughly confused. 

“The next time that girl comes to your bed, there probably won’t be much sleeping.” Mike’s eyes almost bulge out of his head.

“I—I wouldn’t do that!” Mike says exasperated.

“Suuuree.”

[spoiler alert: that’s exactly what happens]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, if you've read the first few chapters before Feb 24th, I've changed a few minor details. (Including upping the ages of the characters to 17 for, well, obvious reasons)


	5. Lowered Inhibitions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Party goes to a party. Things happen. Especially with our two favs...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof I am so so sorry for how long this took me to write. College has been kicking my butt, but I only have a month left so I promise the next chapter will be out much quicker than this one was. Mileven stans pls forgive me <3

After the close call with El being in his bed, Mike found himself extremely paranoid that somehow everyone around him knew. They went about their lives like nothing had happened, and El had even thanked him for being so kind to her, but he was still terrified. 

He also couldn’t keep his eyes off of her now, either. It was like, after she confided in him, she was even more incredible to him. Nancy would catch his eye and he would have to turn away because she could read him all too well. 

Saturday came quicker than expected, however, and that was a good thing. The Party was excited to finally act like stupid teenagers for the night, instead of being the usual nerds they were. 

“Mike,” El said, breaking his train of thought. They were in the basement, half-doing homework half-doing nothing at all. 

“Hm?” 

“I asked if you were excited for the party?” El asked again. 

“Oh, yeah… um, I guess. I’ve only been to the one and it wasn’t very good, so hopefully this one’s better. And plus we’ll all be together, so it should be fun.”

“Is Nancy gonna come?” She asked, turning the bracelet on her wrist. 

“Yeah, her and Jonathan are both friends with Steve…. Please tell me you aren’t going to force me to help pick out your clothes,” Mike whined. El was very indecisive.

“No, you’re safe. Max helped me pick one out earlier,” El giggled. “We should probably start getting ready, it’s almost 8.”

In reality, El needed a while to get ready, while Mike didn’t really care and was always ready within five minutes, but he nodded anyway. 

————————————

Steve’s party was in full swing by the time they all got there. There were plenty of local college kids already halfway gone, and El couldn’t help but feel a bit out of place. Even though she wasn’t raised with a too strict set of rules, drinking wasn’t really her scene. 

El took a drink, just to be polite, and sipped it a few times, but never really drank much of it. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Mike was doing the same thing. Neither one of them wanted to get completely wasted. 

Their friends were another story. Max and Dustin in particular weren’t afraid of diving right into the drinks.

“Do you wanna dance?” Mike asked El after several minutes of watching Max play some drinking game with a large group of college kids. 

“Sure,” El answered. Mike grabbed the drink out of her hand and placed both of their drinks on a nearby counter. 

They moved out into a crowd of dancing young adults, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” playing in the background. They weren’t exactly dancing, really it was a lot of jumping around, but no one here was paying attention to them. Maybe that’s why things led to where they did, but honestly, it was only a matter of time. 

El wasn’t sure how it happened. One minute, she was dancing with her best friend. The next, something in the atmosphere shifted. 

She didn’t know who started it, it could’ve been her for all she knew. But someone moved closer, and their faces were suddenly only centimeters apart. Breathing the same air, they couldn’t take it anymore, and in a millisecond El’s mouth was on his. 

El’s arms wound around Mike’s neck, and his hands were on her waist. They kissed fervently, not really thinking about where they were. 

Later, El would try to blame her careless actions on the alcohol, but in reality, she’d had nowhere near enough to even be close to drunk. 

They kept kissing until someone ran into them saying, “Get a room!” At this, they finally looked at each other. 

Mike’s face was red, lips a little swollen. El was sure her face looked similar. 

Mike cleared his throat in an attempt to diffuse the tension, “You wanna go outside and talk?”

“Yes,” El answered. 

They walked out of the house hand in hand, being ignored by everyone except for Nancy, who’d make eye-contact with Mike and raised her eyebrows.

Finally, they found the porch of the house and sat on the bottom step.

“Did we just make out at a party?” El asked, laughing at the turn of events.

“Uh, yeah I think we did.” Mike laughed, too. 

When they finally stopped laughing, Mike was the first to speak up. “I told myself that you were too good for me. That you could never like someone like me. I guess I was just scared. But after…well…. that, I feel like I should tell you that I am completely in love with you.” 

El gasped, she couldn’t believe it. “Mike, I thought that I wasn’t good enough for YOU. I—I wanted… I’ve felt the same way for a long time…. I love you too.”

“Wow… We’re pretty stupid aren’t we?” Mike said. El nearly snorted. 

“Yeah, yeah we are,” she replied, leaning her head on his shoulder. 

“What’re we gonna tell our parents?” Mike asked. El cringed. She knew having two teenagers living in the same house while dating was not going to go very well with their parents. 

“Lets… not tell them, at least for now. I mean, they’re gonna freak when they find out, so why not delay that?” El didn’t really like lying, but this wouldn’t exactly be lying, it would be withholding the truth and she could live with that. 

“Sounds good to me. Hopper’s literally gonna murder me.” El giggled. 

————————————

As it turns out, keeping it secret was both easier and more difficult than they had anticipated. 

It was easier because Mike’s mom and Hopper were very busy people, thus leaving their teenagers home alone, doing things that they had no clue about. No, they hadn’t had sex yet, but things were escalating quickly, and it wasn’t going to be long before they took that step.

It was difficult because of the little things. Like Mike fighting the urge to put his arm around El, and El avoiding grabbing Mike’s hand. There had even been an incident where they’d almost kissed each other goodbye, but were able to play it off as a hug. 

Needless to say, there were pros and cons to keeping their relationship a secret. 

Of course, their friends knew from the moment they had spotted them on the porch. There was no denying the instant connection that had formed that night. 

And going public at school had surprisingly given them a bit of popularity, especially with anyone who was at the party and witnessed the make out session firsthand. There had only been a handful of high schoolers there, but they had somehow all seen. 

But Mike and El didn’t pay them any attention. They had each other, and that’s all that mattered to them.

Until they were caught.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am estimating 2-3 more chapters of this story. But if you want more, please, pretty please, check out my other stories on here!! 
> 
> Mileven fics:   
> A Stranger Christmas Carol - an AU I couldn't get out of my head  
> Hold My Hand When Your Far Away - read if you want to cry but be so happy at the same time  
> she'll come back to you - ugh personal fav to write, tears  
> you are my sunshine - grab the tissues, you'll need them
> 
> Lumax fics:  
> Take Me Instead - kinda not Lumax-centric but they're in it soo  
> Their Song - short, sweet, everything you'll ever want for these two
> 
> Coming soon: I Don't Break My Promises (Mileven, duh)


	6. We're Not Kids Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and El get caught...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, so quick warning. Nothing descriptive or detailed, but lots of discussion about sex. If you don't like the idea of a seventeen year old Mike and El doing that, than you might wanna skip this one. It's not really a big deal, it's nothing that we wouldn't see on Stranger Things itself, but just thought I should let ya know before I make anyone uncomfortable. 
> 
> Big angst, but if you make it through there's some Party interaction at the end of this soo...
> 
> Love you guys, tysm for the support for this story even though I suck :)))

It started with just kissing, like they always did. After a month, Mike and El had gotten very comfortable with each other. They were laying on the couch in the basement, Mike practically hovering on top of El. 

“Wait,” El said, putting a hand on Mike’s chest. “Is someone home? I think I just heard something.”

“No, there shouldn’t be… Maybe you’re just being paranoid,” Mike said.

“Maybe…”

They continued with their little make out session, until things started becoming… more.

“Mike… I—I’m nervous. What if someone comes in?”

“They’re at work, and Holly is at a friends house… Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Mike asked. 

“Yes, I’m okay. Sorry, just being stupid.” And she really was okay with it, but she wanted it to be special, and someone walking in on them would definitely not be part of that plan.

“You’re not stupid.” 

A half hour later, they laid in Mike’s bed. No one had come in. And they were so happy and in love.

So much so that they didn’t hear Mrs. Wheeler come through the front door upstairs. 

“Mike? El? Where are you guys?” 

“Shit!” Mike said, both the teens shooting up out of bed and trying to make themselves presentable. 

Fast enough to be fully clothed, but not fast enough to look nonchalant, the kids stood just feet from the bed wide-eyed as Mrs. Wheeler appeared on the stairs. 

Karen looked at the guilty expressions on their faces, and immediately became pale when she realized just what the two had been doing while she wasn’t home. 

“Oh my god!” she yelled. 

“Mom, it’s not—“ Mike started. 

“No, you do not get to talk right now,” she took a breath. “I don’t even know what to say right now.”

“Mrs. Wheeler?…” El said in a quiet voice. 

Karen didn’t speak, but looked at the girl to show she was listening.

“I’m sorry. We should have told you sooner, but we… weren’t sure how you’d react. We’ve been dating for about a month now… I—I love him,” El said.

“I love her too,” Mike spoke up.

“Are you mad at us?” El asked.

Karen took a deep breath again. “N—No, not exactly. Just… surprised and disappointed I guess. I just wish you would’ve waited longer.”

“We’re seventeen, Mom. We’re not kids anymore.”

“Right. I keep forgetting.” Karen smiled sadly, and then looked at El. “You’re going to have to tell your father.”

Yep, Mike was going to die tonight.

—————————————

Mike and El sat side by side at the dinner table, both of their arms crossed in annoyance as they waited for Hopper to come home. Karen had forced them to sit there and wait. Earlier when she told them they’d have to tell Hopper, they’d both argued and she’d had to threaten them with telling him herself. 

“Do we have to mention… ya know, um, what we were doing when you caught us?” Mike asked, not looking her in the eye.

“Yes,” Karen answered. She might be going a little hard on them, but they had kept this a secret for a month, and that hurt more than finding out. 

That was when Hopper came home. 

“Hey,” he said as he walked in, removing his hat. He spotted Mike and El, still not looking up. “What’s going on?”

Neither teen answered, so Karen spoke up. “Mike,” she said sternly.

Mike shook his head, refusing to look anywhere but the table.

“Oh god, what did they do?” Hopper stood directly in front of them now.

“They’ve been dating for a month behind our backs. I caught them this afternoon.”

“Caught them doing what exactly?” Hopper said in a dangerous voice. 

No one said a word, and Hopper knew exactly what that meant. 

“What the hell! You two think you’re adult enough to go around doing whatever you want? You are kids!”

“It’s not like you didn’t go around doing the same thing when you were our age,” El whispered, but he had heard it.

“What did you say? Hey, I’m the parent here! You do not get to break the rules just because I did!”

“Why not?! I’m seventeen! So what if I’ve had sex?!” El yelled. She could feel the tears filling her eyes. Any time she and Hopper argued, she had trouble keeping in her emotions. 

“Are you serious right now? You know why that’s a big deal. You’re not that stupid.” Hopper rubbed his temples, clearly agitated. 

El rolled her eyes.

“Go to your rooms. Alone. Don’t bother coming back for dinner. And I’ll know if one of you try to sneak out to see the other so don’t even try.”

Karen felt a little bad about dinner, they were just doing what most teenagers were out doing. God knows Nancy kept her on her toes. 

—————————————

The next day was tense. They ate breakfast together in total silence, no one saying a word.

When it was time to leave for school, they left without a word to either parent. 

“I’m sorry about last night, it was… worse than I’d imagined it,” El spoke up.

“No, it’s not your fault. You don’t have to apologize. It’s just a sucky situation. It’ll pass… eventually,” Mike replied, turning down the street. 

El held his hand, not giving an answer.

“Hey,” Mike said once they’d reached the school parking lot. “Let’s just try to have a normal day at school, okay? You’ll feel better if you don’t think about it.”

El nodded and they got out and headed to class. Mike’s plan to not think about it had worked until lunch, when they had to face their friends. 

“Mike! El! We were supposed to go to the arcade last night, what happened to you guys?” Dustin asked. 

Mike and El shared a look of fear at having to tell their friends about last night, but… well, friends don’t lie.

“Um, well, we almost got murdered last night… by Hopper,” Mike said. 

“Did he find out about you two?” Max asked.

Mike then went into an explanation of the fight, attempting to leave out some things, but his friends could see right through him. 

“What were you doing alone in the basement with El, huh?” Dustin asked, grinning ear to ear and wiggling his eyebrows.

“Please do not make me say it…” Mike put his head down, embarrassed. 

That was when Max screamed, “One month! I called it! Give me all your money nerds!”

“What?” Mike asked.

“We made a bet to see how long it would take before you guys ‘sealed the deal’,” Max told him. “And I won!”

“All of you? Not… Will, right?”

Will sheepishly put his ten dollar bill into Max’s hand. “I really thought it’d be longer.”

“Oh my god.” Mike put his head back down and resisted the urge to die right on the spot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you've been following this story for a while, you might have noticed that I finally put a total for the chapters, and yes, there is only one more. This story has been fun to write, but I'm almost at the end of my ideas for it! Besides, I think shorter stories are easier to follow anyways. 
> 
> Please keep an eye out for some other works from me. My writing hasn't been the best for this story, but I've got some one-shots coming soon!
> 
> Also, shout out to anyone who noticed the season 3 line!!


End file.
